Committees

Government’s proposals do not go far enough to tackle ‘increasing threat’ from NCII, WEC warns

20 May 2025

Urgent legislative change is required to tackle the ‘increasing threat’ from non-consensual intimate image (NCII) abuse and better protect victims, the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) has warned following the Government’s response to its report.

While many platforms remove NCII content voluntarily, some fail to comply with requests to take material down. WEC’s report noted that around 10% of NCII content remains circulating online and accessible in the UK, despite attempts to take it down. Such content is invariably hosted on sites based overseas and, in some cases, on sites dedicated to hosting NCII abuse.

In its inquiry, WEC found that the new regulatory regime overseen by Ofcom is unlikely to have much impact on these sites, nor will the new legal framework proposed by the Government which is currently going through Parliament.

If such sites will not remove the material, then blocking access to them, as currently happens with CSAM, is the next best option, WEC recommended. However, under current rules, internet infrastructure providers will not block access to that content unless specifically mandated to by Ofcom. WEC cautioned that Ofcom’s use of such powers would take many months and is an unsuitable remedy to a problem where swift action is imperative.

Despite the evident need to address the problem of non-compliant sites, the Government has rejected the Committee’s key recommendations on a way forward while offering no solutions of its own. Systems are being put in place to address concerns at a macro level, but, WEC noted, individuals will continue to be let down unless urgent action is taken to make internet infrastructure providers, such as ISPs, part of the solution.

The Committee recommended “the Government should bring forward an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to make possession of NCII an offence, in addition to its creation. This will put NCII on the same footing as CSAM in how it is treated online and—we hope—will provide the necessary encouragement to IIPs to block or disrupt access to such content, including that which is hosted overseas”.

The Committee advocated for a swift civil law process to designate content as non-consensual and require immediate restriction of access to it, either through ordering it to be taken down or it being added to a register of urls to be blocked by IIPs.

But in its response published today (May 20), the Government rejected WEC’s recommended approach stating: “The Government is aware of the view that criminalising the non-consensual possession of these images may help to ensure that they can be removed from the internet after they have been shared.

“However, we do not believe that in practice this would achieve that outcome, due to the difficulties around establishing whether it was possessed without either consent or a reasonable belief in consent. It is also unclear what this would add, given existing powers that apply once an image has been unlawfully shared online. We are considering carefully how to tackle removal of these images in the most effective way.”

In its response, the Government said: “The Online Safety Act contains strong provisions for user redress designed to support individuals, including those who are victims of NCII abuse….The Government believes that the duties requiring providers of regulated services to take steps to take down NCII, combined with mandating that victims are provided with a direct user redress mechanism, is an effective way to ensure illegal NCII content is removed.”

On enforcement, it added: “Whilst Ofcom will not deal with individual user complaints, including in relation to NCII, it monitors trends to identify compliance issues, and can initiate enforcement action where providers do not comply with their duties… Ofcom is required to produce the report two years after all of the user redress requirements in the Act take effect on providers. This means these provisions will have been in place long enough for Ofcom to report on their effectiveness. Current timelines indicate a 2028 date for the report to be published.”

The Government also rejected the Committee’s recommendation to extend the legal time limits for the taking and sharing intimate image offences. The current time limit of six months is inappropriate, many victims will not be aware that images have been taken until many months later. By not extending the time limits the Government is limiting the routes to justice for victims. While there are offences to which time limits do not apply, they require victims to prove specific motives on the part of the perpetrator and therefore have a much a higher bar to justice.

It is unclear why the Government is refusing to make such a straightforward change that would make a big difference to victims of NCII seeking to pursue justice through the courts, the Committee noted.

Chair comment

Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee and Labour MP Sarah Owen said: “The Committee welcomes the steps the Government is taking to tackle the increasing threat of non-consensual intimate image abuse. 

"However, the Government’s response to our report fails to acknowledge the key concern raised by my Committee, that while the new online safety regime has real benefits and the focus on systems and processes might lead to positive changes, it is not designed to tackle individual claims.

“The current legislative approach would allow 10% of non-consensual images to continue to circulate online and be accessible to the UK. This is because the content is hosted overseas. 

“It is an issue the Government has been made aware of by those working to tackle NCII and also our committee, so it’s really disappointing that there is nothing in the Crime and Policing Bill to address our concerns.

"It was also an area of our Report that the Government failed to address. This change is vital, as the status quo is letting victims down and will allow the perpetrators of their abuse to continue to profit from their actions.

“As a minimum, the Government must bring forward the necessary legislative proposals to establish a statutory civil regime which would allow for the swift designation of non-consensual intimate images and which can then require access to such designated content to be blocked or disrupted, as already happens for child sexual abuse material.

“Every victim of a sexual offence deserves to be treated with respect and have their case investigated promptly and effectively. Given the deeply personal nature of NCII, victims cannot wait months or even years for action and redress.

“I urge the Government to act and bring forward the necessary legislative proposals. If it fails to do so, the Committee recommendations were clear that we will put forward our own, in the form of amendments to proposed legislation.”

Further information